


Gwen, Gwenom, & Venom

by CyclonicJet



Category: Marvel, Spider-Gwen (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-02 06:19:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19193422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyclonicJet/pseuds/CyclonicJet
Summary: When a Venom from an alternative universe unexpectedly land in the middle of downtown New York, Spider-Gwen rushes to stop him wreaking destruction upon her reality. But something isn't right, for as Gwen approaches the symbiote something primal within her stirs...





	1. A Clash of Symbiotes

Twhip! Smack! Crack! “Well guys.” Gwen said looking at her webbed up victims. “I hope we learnt a valuable lesson tonight. Don’t tangle with the ghost spider unless you want to be all webbed up!”  _ [That was awful.] _ “That was awful.” she murmured to herself.

“That was terrible.” said the girl splattered against the alley wall next to her.

“Yeah spider girl!” said another webbed up criminal. “If you’re going to beat us at least have some better material!”

“Hey!” Gwen exclaimed. “Being witty all the time is not as easy as it looks! I put hard work into this stuff!”

“Clearly not enough.” the girl said. 

“You know-“ Gwen started. The ground abruptly rumbled violently as what felt like an earthquake shook the city. Hot on its heels followed a beam of light blazing its way skyward, it’s source veiled behind a long line of skyscrapers.

_ [Oh that can’t be good...I guess I should probably go deal with it.]  _ “Well guys.” she said looking around at them all. “Looks like I’m needed elsewhere. But you all feel free to stick around till the police arrive.” _[_ _ Cheesy. But just the right a mount of cheese.] _ __ She shot a web up to the roof. “Later.” she said snapping them a quick two finger salute. She promptly vanished upwards.

 

* * *

 

_*A quick jaunt across midtown later*_

 

As she landed on a rooftop overlooking the carnage, a strange shiver went up Gwen’s spine. She could feel her arms shaking slightly, as if in some sort of anticipation. A weird tingling boiled in her blood.  _ [Ok. Weird.]  _ This was not her spider sense. It was something else, something entirely different. She could feel it. Something inside her was reacting to something nearby. But what?

There was movement down amongst the flaming wreckage littering the street. A single large creature wandered amongst the ruined cars. It’s skin, if it could be called that, was black as pitch. It’s mouth hung agape, a long slithering tongue protruding from the cavity. And it was slobbering. Large globules of drool pooling in its mouth and dripping down over the edges.

_ [Oh great. What’s this guys deal?] _ She leapt down and lowered herself slowly on a web. Only when she was dangling behind and upside down relative to it did she get its attention.  “Yo! Slobber!” she called. The thing turned to look at her. The monstrous white slits it called eyes fixed upon her.  Alarm bells sounded in her head. This was definitely her spider sense this time.  _ [Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.]  _ It leapt at her, far faster than its size suggested it should be able to. If not for the bells ringing in her head then it would have likely nabbed her too.

She released the web and fell to the floor in a crouch. The slavering monster flew over and landed on the roof of a nearby car, crushing the roof in the process.  As she rounded to shoot a web at it, her arm violently buckled. Something has jolted it inside. Her blood was tingling harder then ever.  _ [What the hell is wrong with me!?]  _ The momentary lapse has given the creature all the time it needed. It leapt again at her. Gwen launched herself backward into a long somersault. The creature flew under her this time.  _ [I need to give this thing a name.] _

She landed on another wrecked car, just barely keeping her feet as her legs threatened to buckle.  _ [Ok. Now this is a problem. I need to move. Retreat. Figure out what’s happening to me.]  _ She fired a web at a nearby roof and shot upward.  Halfway up, her whole body spasmed violently. She lost her concentration and flew into the side of the building. She gripped onto it for dear life as convulsions wracked her body. Alarm bells rang in her head again.  _ [Have...too...move.]  _ The sound of shattering glass reached her ears. Looking down she could see the creature clawing its way up the buildings glass facade towards her.  _ [Ughhh!]  _ She forced her body to crawl across the windows, pulling herself higher and away from the beast.

She reached the top and jumped over the side onto the roof. A new series of convulsions seized her as she landed and she collapsed to her knees.  _ [UGHHHHH!]  _ She knelt there paralysed. Her body refusing to respond. A hand closed around her neck.  Flipping her around the creature held her by the throat. It leered over her, globules of saliva pouring down onto her.  _ [Maybe Slobber?]  _ Her blood roiled angrily, a feeling like it was threatening to burst free of her body. Then it did.  Black tendrils erupted from her skin, wrapping themselves around her. Up and down from head to toe. A veritable cocoon encompassing her.  _ [Oh...now it makes sense.]  _ The cocoon burst open, and Gwenom emerged free from it.

  
  


She launched her hand forward as a fist. Colliding with Solbber’s stomach, he was launched clear off of her. Shaking her head to clear it, she stood back up and rolled her shoulders. “ Come on then big boy. ” her voice drawled. “ Let’s brawl! ” She launched herself toward the monster.  **_[Fresh prey!]_ **

She slammed into its sternum. Slobber, still doubled over from the punch, lost his balance and they both went toppling over the roof edge. The two of them landed in a heap, crushing an abandoned bus beneath them. **_[_** _ **Pain…]**  _She sat there dazed for a moment, and through the daze a tiny glimmer of the real Gwen managed to surface long enough to take a deep lungful of air. 

_[_ _Need to get a grip! Get a hold of myself before-.]_ Slobber suddenly grabbed her by the arm, and with a mighty heave threw her clean out of the wreckage of the bus, and straight through the window of a neighbouring convenience store. Gwen floundered and was dragged back beneath the pitch black tide. Gwenom took back control.  She was mildly aware of panicked screaming nearby, and loud bells echoing in her head. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.  **_[Fight!]_ ** A low guttural growl echoed from deep inside her. A similar sound greeted it as Slobber crawled in through the smashed window after her.

Shooting a web at the ceiling, she propelled herself up and then back down towards Slobber. She pushed her leg forward, ready to land a heavy kick. Slobber just sidestepped, grabbed her leg, and tossed her like a rag doll back out onto the street. As she flew through the window she spat another web, clinging it on to the abandoned cash register. It was wrenched free of its mooring and slammed hard into the back of Slobbers head. The creature staggered under the impact, then swiftly recovered itself and, with renewed zeal, charged out of the shop after her.

Gwenom landed painfully onto the asphalt.  **_[ARRRRGHH!]_ ** Dragging herself back to her feet she turned to look at the lumbering abomination running towards her. A bellowed roar escaped her as she crossed her arms and shot two webs either side of her. Then once they were fixed in place she tugged hard on both.  The din of grinding metal echoed loudly as Slobber suddenly found itself crushed between the flaming wreckage of two cars. It roared in fury as it was pancaked, but was quickly drowned out by the din of the colliding cars and fell silent. Gwenom stood there breathing hard. A low raspy noise coming in and out of her lungs.

She couldn’t discern Slobber amongst the shredded carcasses of the cars. But everything was still.  _ **[Crushed.]** _ The slow moan of settling metal was abruptly interrupted by the sound of groaning steel, as the car on the left began to slowly shift. Another angry growl escaped her.  Bells banged of in her head again. She ignored them. In a flash the car erupted outwards, flung with full force behind it towards her. She had no time to dodge as it slammed into her. Her body was launched backwards and into the side of the bus again. 

**_[PAIN!!!]_ ** Before she could make a move, the hulk of the car that had just smashed into her was lifted up by Slobber. He proceeded to slam it down hard on top of her, pinning her between it and the ruined bus.  The resulting cacophony and pain induced daze made her lucid again. Gwen rubbed her head.  _ [Need to get out of here. Too much damage.]  _ She lifted her aching legs and with a kick shunted the car off the side of the bus.

Breathing hard she looked around. Slobber was gone. She sighed a breath of relief. As she made to disentangle herself from the wreck, a globule of thick drool landed on her shoulder. Only now did she become aware of the still ringing alarm bells going off in her head.  Slobber jumped down on her from the bus roof, pinning her back in place. It raised a fist, and hit her hard in the face. Then it repeated it with the other fist, and continued in this fashion, pummelling her repeatedly and without restraint.

**_[AGHHH!]_ ** _ [AGHHH!] _ **_[KILL!]_ ** _ [ESCAPE!] _ **_[DIE!]_ ** _ [LIVE!] _

She raised her hand and caught Slobbers fist mid punch. An angry noise escaped her. Then balling her feet up, she shot them forward in a powerful double kick. Slobber launched free of her and landed in a heap some thirty feet away. Gwen leapt free of the bus and stared at the beast as it got back to its feet. It turned to look at her and roared. _[_ _L_ _e_ _t_ _’s_ ** _k_ _i_ _c_ _k_** _h_ _i_ _s_ ** _a_ _s_ _s_ _!_ _]_** Slobber lunged forward. She shot a web at him, sticking it firmly on to his chest. Then she yanked hard on it, lifting herself free of the ground and rushing rapidly towards him. Before Slobber could react she was on him, launching a hard shoulder press into his face. Then she was gone, sailing on past the crippled creature.

Carrying her momentum forward she slung a web up onto the adjacent building and pulled herself up, clinging to windowed glass beneath her to it. She turned back to look at Slobber.  He was staggering around, angry yelps and roars escaping from his throat periodically. A long hiss could be heard under pinning it all. She narrowed her eyes.  **_[_ _Time_ ** _ to  _ _**finish** _ _ this!]  _ She leapt from the building and webbed herself onto a nearby lamppost.

Shooting a web at Slobber, she caught him in the back. Then she began weaving her way around him, jumping and leaping from post, to building, to stand. Slowly weaving a cocoon of websilk around the staggered beast. As she continued to spin her web, Slobber began to teeter. Once she was done she gave the web a hard final yank. Slobber lost his footing entirely and fell over.

As he collapsed down to the pavement, the boiling in her blood abruptly ceased. A swarm of black spiders swiftly coated her, then fled just as quickly leaving her the ghost spider once more. The sound of wailing sirens approaching echoed loudly through the newly silent street.  “You stay here now.” she said to the hulking mass. “Don’t go running off!” She shot towards the rooftops, and swiftly vanished as the first police cars rounded on to the devastation that was the street. 


	2. Chapter 2

_*Later that night*_

Her nostrils flared as short shallow breaths passed through them. She was in turmoil as she desperately tried to bring her emotions under control, of which she was doing a spectacularly poor job. She was trembling, holding herself in a one arm hug. Her other hand was held in front of her, half hidden in the murky gloom of the apartment, her eyes tracing the contours of its silhouette.

“What the hell was that!” she seethed angrily through half choked tears. “I thought I had a handle on this!”  _ [Guess I was wrong.]  _ Ever since she had revealed her identity, there had been an amicable peace between herself and the venom symbiote floating around her veins. But maybe it wasn’t such a stable a truce as she had thought.

  The parasite was quiet now. Returning to subjected dormancy. She clenched her fist in anguish.  _ [Why now?]  _ She brooded quietly to herself on the question. Did it have something to with that thing she had fought? How could that thing have elicited such a reaction? Sure he had been tough, but not the toughest she had ever faced. So why him?

The apartment light flicked on, illuminating the small room and revealing Gwen plain within it. Standing at the bedroom door was MJ. “Gwen?” she said somewhat sleepish. “You alright?”

Gwen wiped the now mostly dried tears from her cheek. “Yeah. Of course.” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “Why do you ask.”

“It’s just that, your sitting alone in the dark crying to yourself…and your ughhh...your still in your costume.”

Gwen looked down at herself. MJ was right. She was still dressed up in her spider costume. “Oh.” she murmured. “Right.”

MJ raised an eyebrow. “Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Gwen muttered. MJ stood there for a moment studying her.

“Do you want some company?” Gwen paused for a moment, then nodded.

Without saying another word MJ moved over and sat on the vacant side of the sofa. Then the two of them sat there, each quiet and lost in thought. Gwen appreciated it, the simple solace of having someone else nearby was wonderfully reassuring. It was all the better for it being a close friend.

After about ten minutes MJ lifted the TV remote and, with a glance at Gwen, gestured towards the TV with a slight nod of the head towards it as well. Gwen simply nodded again. The sound of the television filled the apartment. But it was only the news, and the volume was turned down low besides. Gwen returned to staring at her hand. The gears in her mind continuing to grind away about the nights events.

After a few minutes Gwen became mildly aware of MJ staring at her. She looked at her to see her eyes were flicking back and forth between her and the TV. Gwen turned to look at the screen. She was on it. Or at least the other her was. It was phone footage caught by those who had been hiding near where she and Slobber had been fighting.

“Is...is that you?” MJ asked quietly.

Gwen looked down, averting her eyes from hers. She nodded. MJ went quiet again for a moment. “What’s with the get up? I thought you retired that outfit?” Gwen spent a moment thinking, then gave a half hearted shrug.  _ [How could she understand...how could anyone? Hell! Even I don’t understand.]  _ MJ nodded in reply and turned back to the TV. “You’re really kicking that things ass aren’t you?” she said. Gwen didn’t reply, retreating further into herself instead. When MJ was sure she wasn’t going to get a response she sighed slightly to herself.

“You’re kind of scary. You know that Gwen?” she said after a short time. That pulled Gwen back to reality somewhat. She looked up at MJ who was staring at the TV, but wasn’t really looking at it. “You have all these powers, and you fight all these monsters and wackjobs and whatnot...and then you beat them. Regularly too.” She paused and turned to look at Gwen. “It’s terrifying to someone like me sometimes. To think just how strong you are. How far above the rest of us you are.”

Gwen stared at her for a moment before raising her arm again to look at it.  _ [Scary? Because I’m strong? Is that what I am? Is that how people see me?] _ As she stared at her hand, a slight buzzing filled her head. She spent a moment puzzling over it before recognising it as her spider sense. Without immediate danger it was more of a gentle nudge then a full on shove.

She turned to look at the TV. On the screen was a helicopter shot with the word LIVE slapped in the corner of the screen. Far below the chopper there was a scene of pandemonium, as a heavily armed police convoy was being torn apart. Cop cars were exploding, while in the centre of it all a large SWAT style van lay overturned and slightly crushed. Occasionally she saw a glimpse of the assailant moving amongst the carnage. A large black mass tearing police officers and vehicles alike apart, while hopelessly ineffectual gunfire bounced off the side of it.

A bolt of electricity ran through her nervous system, as at the same time her blood started to simmer again. Her arms began to tremble slightly as well too. Her fists clenched opened and closed reflexively. “Gwen? You all right?” MJ asked.

_ [I shouldn’t get involved in this. I can’t risk what happened happening again...but if I don’t then more people will get hurt. I have to do something.] _

Gwen stood up. “I need to go.” she said. She made to move to the window, but she was stopped abruptly when MJ reached forward and grabbed her arm.

“You don’t have to go you know.” she said. “Something is wrong with you Gwen. Even I can see that much.” Gwen lowered her head and squeezed her eyes closed. “And if it has anything to do with this thing,” she said indicating the TV, “then maybe it’s best you sit this one out. Let other people deal with it.”

Gwen felt tears welling in her eyes again, but she swiftly suppressed them back down. “You’re wrong.” she said. “I don’t have a choice. Not this time. Not any time. Because if I don’t do something...people get hurt.”

“Gwen…” MJ whispered sorrowfully.

_ [I’m sorry.] _ Before MJ could react Gwen wrenched herself free of her grip, and launched herself across the room and out the open window. “GWEN!” she heard MJ yelling behind her. She didn’t turn around to look. She shot her web at the nearest building corner, and began spinning her way across the city, and towards a fight she really, really, didn’t want to have to confront.


	3. Chapter 3

Gwen swung and flipped her way through the air, moving from building to building with an endless series of _Thwips_ . Her head however, was a million miles away. _[Need to stay calm Gwen. Don’t let this rattle you. Just get in there. Beat the hell out of this thing. And then get the hell out of dodge. Easy!]_ Gwen wasn’t really all that convinced by the simplicity of that plan. But having it, crude as it was, was at least some small comfort.

She landed herself on the side of an apartment block. “Now, if I were Slobber...where would I go?” she said to herself, purveying the city. Her spider sense tingled. It was pulling her to the window beneath her. Looking inside she could see two men watching TV, upon which she could clearly see Slobber rampaging around on the Brooklyn bridge. _[Well, that’s convenient. Alright then. Next stop. Brooklyn Bridge.]_

* * *

As she approached the east side of the city the sound of blaring police sirens grew almost intolerably loud. Swinging her way onto a rooftop overlooking the east river, she could see the full scale of the situation at last. The path of devastation was obvious, clearly marking where Slobber had trashed his way through the city.

Wrecked cars, torn up pavements, and tons of other detritus littered the streets that he had stormed through. The carnage only ending haltingly someway down the length of the bridge itself.

It was here that Slobber had been brought to a halt in his rampage, or perhaps he had decided to hunker down and make it his new den. Whatever the reason, it was now up to her to dislodge him. _[I get all the best jobs around here. Why can’t I ever just get something simple…*sigh*...there’s no point griping to yourself Gwen. It’s not going to_ help.] She looked towards the bridge. _[So then, next question. How am I going to reach that bridge?]_ The main road was out of the question, the heavily fortified police blockade ruled that idea clean out. _[If I can get over them somehow…no, no, it's too far too swing. Well. If over and through are out. Then that leaves…]_

Gwen leapt down and swung herself to the riverside, gliding her way under the bridge itself. She throttled back up and clung stickily to the undercarriage. _[Now I just need to get on top and we’re golden.]_ As she began shifting her way towards the edge her spider sense blared loudly.

She obeyed the warning and dodged left as a sharpened claw sliced apart the metalwork she had been clinging to mere seconds earlier. She crawled backward and stared into the murky shadows of the undercarriage. Two white slits stared back at her. _[Or maybe he’ll come to me I guess.]_

“Hey Slobber. Long time no see.” she called. “How are things? Cause I’ll be honest. Things have been kind of rough for me lately. You know, fighting slavering monsters, my own internal demons, missing band practice for the third time in a week. It’s enough to get a girl down you know? But hey I won’t bore you with-“ Slobber lunged at her. “Oh ok then! Guess we’re skipping banter and getting straight to it!”

She shifted to the side, dodging his initial lunge, but he quickly collected himself and turned back around, managing to grab her arm. “Oi!” she yelled shooting a web sling into his face. “Buy a girl a drink first!” He released her, and with his now freed hand ripped the webbing off in one sharp yank.

He hissed. “ **_You talk too much._ ** ” came a harsh rasping voice. A strange convulsion assailed her at the sound of his voice. _[It can talk!?]_

“You can talk!?” she exclaimed.

He laughed, a hoarse throaty noise that pained the ears. “ ** _Surprise!_ **”

 _[Creepy...he sound so familiar though? I’ve heard that voice before. But where?]_ She could feel a familiar pressure burgeoning in the back of her head as she tried to think. Something was groping around, looking for any form of purchase it could find in her mind. Gwen wasn’t about to give it a chance to do so.

_[Remember the plan Gwen! Get in! Get out!]_

“Come on big boy!” she said jumping free of the bridge and casting a sling. “Let’s take this upstairs!”

She swung herself upward upward and out from under the undercarriage. She latched onto one of the bridges many suspension cables. As she began to climb upward, the pressure building at the back of her head exploded. _[ **Let me in Gwen! Give me control!** ] _

She ground to a halt and grunted, her eyes scrunched and her head bowed against the pain. She pounded her fist against the cable in agony. “Yeaaaaah. That’s not happening.” she seethed.

The pressure increased slightly. _[ **Just give in. I know you want to!** ] _“Nope!” she exclaimed. ”Nope, nope, nope! I’m perfectly happy being Gwen! Thank you very much!” The words were more for her own benefit then they were a rebuke. She had to keep herself grounded. She needed to remain Gwen.

A silence fell from the voice. The pressure pressed a little harder again and she found herself digging her fingers sharply into her palms. She would not give in. She refused to. After a few more moments the pressure subsided, and Gwenom retreated deep back inside her.

She let out a gasp of relief, as she released a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. She was shaking slightly. _[The plan Gwen! Stick to the plan!]_ A dull echo was ringing in her head. She recognised it as her spider sense far too late.

A greasy black hand wrapped around her ankle, and dragged her free of the suspension cable. _[Alright. Honesty time Gwen. This plan isn’t really working. Like at all. Infact, I’m starting to suspect that this whole idea was actually a really bad one. Which makes me two for two for bad ideas tonight. I’m on a hot streak!]_ Gwen looked at the quickly approaching ground. _[Let’s not shoot for the turkey.]_

She fired a web at the cables above and just about broke her fall in time. _[Not this Gwen bridge!]_ She let herself dangle a second before letting go and landing in a long crouch. She stood back up and dusted herself off. “Well that was dramatic.” she muttered to herself. “Now where did-“ Slobber slammed down onto an abandoned car some fifty feet from her. “Ah. There you are.”

“ **Ready for round two?** ” he rasped. It sent an involuntary shiver down her spine. Her blood tingled in response.

“You know. I liked it better it better when you didn’t talk." she said. "Can we go back to that?”

He laughed hoarsely for a moment, then pounded his arms hard against the ruined car and roared loudly into the night. Gwen rolled her shoulders. _[Alright then. Guess we’re doing it the hard way.]_

He charged at her. Gwen charged at him. He raised claw to swipe at her. She dodged under it, punched him in the stomach, and slid on past. Her hand throbbed violently from the force of the impact. _[£¥ &$@%#! OW! That did not hurt that much last time I decked him.] _

A voice echoed in her head. _[ **Last time you had me.** ] _ “You stay out of this! This is between me and Slobber!” _[ **You are in denial. Accept the truth already.** ] _ “Alright then. I’ll bite.” she said dodging another swing from Slobber. “What truth is that?” _[Y **ou need me.** ] _“Like @$?!¥% I do!” she exclaimed back flipping over a pickup truck Slobber had lobbed at her.

The voice laughed in a cold malicious tone, not unlike Slobbers. _[ **You always did prefer learning your lessons the hard way. I guess you’ll just have to find out how right I am.** ] _ _“_ Asshole.” she muttered. _[Stay focused Gwen! Still have a salivating monster to beat here! Gwenom can wait her in turn in my priority queue!]_

Slobber again swiped at her. She evaded it and kicked him square in the jaw. Her leg buckled under the impact. _[@$#%! It’s like kicking cement!]_ She jumped back from Slobber, retreating to a safe distance so her leg could recover from the jarring it had just received.

 _[Alright! I need a new plan and fast? Preferably one that won’t end with every bone in my body shattered. Come on Gwen! Think!]_ Slobber ripped a car door loose and chucked it at her. She yelped, dodging it and webbing herself up onto the suspension cables again. _[Think faster!]_

Slobber lobbed a car bonnet at her. She slung around the cable, narrowly avoiding it. Then came the barrage. Slobber launched anything and everything he could get his hands on at her. Gwen dove and weaved through the cables as the pelting detritus crashed through the thick metal wires.

 _[Shit! Shit! Shit!]_ _[ **Need me yet?** ] _ “Nope! I’m good! I got this! I so totally got this! I have everything under con-“ A flying motorcycle smashed into her. _[*#? &@%$&*!!!!] _Gwen was launched backward off the bridge. Her head pounded violently. Her arm jerked under its own power, controlled by something that was decidedly not her.

A web blasted out and clung to the side of the bridge. She found herself swinging underneath the undercarriage and back up on the other side of the bridge. She grappled onto the opposing suspension cables. None of that had been Gwen. Her body had been possessed of a will of its own.

 _[ **Oh yeah. You need me.** ] _ Gwen shook her head. “I have it handled!” she said utterly unconvincingly. Slobber leapt across to her side of the bridge and started to climb up to her. Gwen grunted to herself. _[Something easy…]_ She started climbing away from him. _[...just once…]_ She let go of the cables and swung her way down into Slobber, landing a really hard kick to his face. _[...is that too much to ask.]_

His face was a lot squishier than the rest of him, and crumpled inward like a moist paper towel. Gwen flew on past and landed on the road. Slobber followed, crashing down on his back, throwing the symbiote form of a hissy fit.

He battered the road with his arms, before abruptly flipping himself over in one fluid motion. Roaring with now genuine rage he barrelled forward, charging towards her, clawing the road apart and ripping up tarmac as he went. _[I think it’s quite possible that I’ve made him really quite mad now. That’s probably not a good thing...I mean, it’s certainly not a good thing for me at least...I should probably move.]_

Gwen jumped sideways, barely just dodging Slobber. But as she settled into her new purchase atop an abandoned car, a violent spasm struck her. “GAHH!!” She collapsed onto her back in agonising pain. Her skin felt like it was crawling, and burned like it was on fire. Sharp wheezing breaths came hard and fast.

 _[No! No! No! Not now!]_ A hand closed around her neck. _[HELP!]_ It squeezed. _[ANYONE!?]_ Slobber leered over her, his tongue lapping her face as he squeezed ever tighter. “ **You, are like all other spiders.** ” he rasped. “ **You squish easily!** ”

Gwen kicked hard at Slobber, attempting to break free of him. She launched a fierce thrust into his gut. He merely grunted and proceeded to pin her legs to the ground with his own. She wriggled in a desperate gambit to worm free of his grip.

Slobber leaned in closer. His face pressing up against her. **“** ** _[Stop resisting. Give in.]”_** Gwen wasn’t sure if it was Slobber or Gwenom who had said that. She could no longer tell the two apart.

 _[Can’t. Give. In-]_ She aimed her right hand at the nearest car and fired a web off. Slobber proceeded to quickly slash the thread apart and pin her hand down with his own.

Gwen started to shake violently. She could feel Gwenom stirring. _[Must. Resist-]_ A wave of anger that wasn’t her own washed over her. A pitch black tide was coming in, and Gwen was too far out to reach the shore in time. Tiny ink stain like blotches started to pool sporadically across her body. Black gloves grew on her hands, and began crawling there way up her arms.

“AGHHH!” she roared, expending the last of the air stored in her lungs. Stars were forming in her eyes from the lack of oxygen. _[Air-Air. Need...air…]_ She flailed like a man drowning. A shadow passed over her. They were spiders, crawling among the stars. _[ **My turn!** ] _Gwen gasped. But could draw no breath. She drowned beneath the advancing tide.

* * *

Gwen awoke abruptly in her apartment. She had seemingly dozed off propped up on the couch. She looked around the room. A soft sunset was pouring through the window, suffusing the room with a warm orange glow. Her phone lay on the table in front of her, quietly playing chill tunes. She was alone.

 _[Odd. I don’t remember walking home. I also don’t remember…anything. What was I doing?]_ She looked at her hands. In one she was gripping a drumstick, and in the other a book. She was absentmindedly using the drumstick to beat along to the tune her phone was playing, tapping it against rhythmically against the book. She found herself nodding her head along to the beat.

 _[...]_ Gwen had to be honest with herself. She felt very at peace right now. More so then she had in quite a long time actually. She decided not to question it. Instead she spent a good long while enjoying it. She gazed out the window, watching the sun as it slowly danced towards the horizon, glittering beautifully against the line of skyscrapers outside. _[This is...nice. Why don’t I do this more often?]_

Her head buzzed slightly. She felt the urge to look at the book in her hand. Flipping it so she could read the cover, she couldn’t help but prop an eyebrow. “The Life & Times of Gwen Stacy...by Gwen Stacy?” she muttered to herself. Still bobbing her head, and twirling her drumstick, she propped it open to the page she had apparently bookmarked.

‘The Slobber Clobber Conundrum.’ Gwen smirked to herself. ‘Ah. So we arrive to it at last. The symbiote crisis. Let's not beat around the bush here reader. The whole Venom thing? Not my finest hour. Got laid out pretty good. Wasn’t totally my fault though. I was having to fight myself at the same time...that kinda makes me sound crazy. Let me rephrase. I was fighting the other me. That’s not much better is it…’

“Not really.” Gwen muttered sarcastically.

‘Look. Point is. It wasn’t my fault...totally anyway. But still, I got well and truly smoked. So you’re probably wondering how it all shook out in the end right? Funny thing is, so would I. Strange to think I don’t know what happened isn’t it? But I haven’t got the foggiest. Last thing I really remember is fighting Slobber on Brooklyn Bridge. But after that? Na-da. Nothing. Zilch.’

‘Wellllll, maybe not _nothing._ I do have a vague feeling about what came next. More of an emotional memory then a real one, if that makes any sense. Here, I’ll try and explain what I mean on the next page.’

Gwen flipped the page over. It took her a moment to digest what she was looking at. It looked like she had angrily scrawled the pen across the page, creating a haphazard and strange ink matinee. It kind of resembled what might happen if Lovecraftian horror and Jackson Pollock had attempted to collaborate on a painting together. In other words, it was a bizarre and primordially terrifying image.

Gwen wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. It felt both strange and familiar to her at the same time. What it undoubtedly did though, was make her feel deeply uncomfortable. She skipped to the next page. It was blank. She skipped to the following page, it was also blank. She flipped through the rest of the book. It was empty. She closed the book and looked at the cover again.

 _[When did I write this? I definitely don’t remember doing so…]_ She could recall the night on the bridge now. _[What happened that night?]_ She couldn’t remember. In fact, she couldn’t remember anything between that night and now. [ _Well that’s unsettling.]_ She went back to watching the sunset. It had dipped low in the sky, and now hovered on the edge of the world.

 _[Well if I can’t remember, then maybe TV will know. TV always has the answer.]_ She flicked the TV on.

The screen buzzed with a harsh static. “Hmmm.” she mumbled. She flicked through stations. They were all plagued with static. “Weird.”

She finally flicked onto station sixty five and got a picture. It was a strange show. It was clearly being filmed from a head camera of some kind. The image jerked and jagged randomly as the wearer moved there head around. Whoever was wearing the camera though was fighting something. Something big.

She watched as the two of them brawled, trashing cars and trading hard blows. _[This seems... familiar…]_ She sat entranced for a time. _[What is this?]_ She brought up the program information.

‘Gwenom vs. Venom! On the latest instalment of the Gwen Stacy show, we find our heroine lost in the thrall of Gwenom. With Gwen out for the count, can Gwenom overcome the villain Slobber!? Tune in now to find out!’

She stared blankly at the description. _[Ummmm...what?]_ The sun set outside, plunging the world into twilight. She turned off the information to watch the show again. The image was blurred. It took her a moment to  that the camera was underwater. The wearer was still desperately struggling against Slobber. Stray bubbles swarmed around them. The cameraman landed a heavy punch on the beast, who flinched backward before rounding back on them. Slobber wrapped his mouth around the cameraman’s leg and began dragging them down into the depths.

The night outside the apartment was now pitch black. Thick billowing clouds had cast the world into a starless and moonless purgatory. Even the city lights were faded and muted in the gloom. The only real light that still blazed bright was the glow of the TV set.

The cameraman loosed a savage swipe at Slobber, breaking his hold and allowing them to climb towards the surface. They clawed their way up, only for Slobber to clamp down violently on their waist half way up. He propelled the two of them back down into the darkness below. The swarm of bubbles began to subside.

A slight static started to coat the screen. Gwen fiddled with the remote, but it only made things worse. Soon enough a pure filter of jagged and frizzing lines had replaced the image. A voice spoke out over the static. “ **Don’t forget your place whelp! Next time I will not be so merciful!** ” The TV screen went black.

* * *

 

Gwen sat for a while in the dark. Staring blankly at the TV. _[I don’t-]_ Her phone buzzed. She picked it up to find a message on the screen. It was a long string of expletives. She looked at the sender's name. ‘Gwenom.’ Another message buzzed onto screen. It was another long string of expletives, except this time they were directed at her.

A barrage of pinging message piled through in quick succession after that, each a new and particularly nasty beratement of her. All of them blaming her for losing, for being too weak. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. _[I don’t need this.]_ She block Gwenom. The barrage promptly ended.

Gwen sighed and, abandoning her phone to the couch, went to the window. She climbed onto the sill and pressed her head against the glass. The harsh neon glow of New York cast the the flat in a cold, yet not unkind bluish tint. _[What is this...it’s clearly not real...am I dead?]_ She wasn’t sure. What she was sure of, was just how tired she was. She yawned loudly, her eyes fluttering shut from the quickly on-setting drowsiness.

She managed to crack her eyelids open just enough to stare at the skyline outside. She imagined herself swinging amongst the buildings, enjoying the wondrous freedom of being Spider Gwen. She smiled softly to herself. A renewed peace settled upon her. She went to sleep with dreams of web slinging in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I entirely happy with this? No. Did I re-write it three different times to get it to the point I was at least happy to upload it? Yes. I think the fundamentals are there. But the execution, maybe not so much. My prose could use work. But I think the dialogue is solid. Anyway, enough griping from me. Hope you enjoyed it! Cause god knows I suffered enough trying to draft abstract thought into words.


	4. Chapter 4

A loud groan escaped Gwen’s throat. A splitting headache throbbed loudly in her brain. Her whole body was numb. She was laid out on her back, something soft cushioning her from below. She raised one hand to temples and began massaging it.  _ [Where...where am I?] _

The blaring horn of a passing tug boat answered her. She snapped her eyes open. She was on a narrow beach of grey sand, quiet waters lapping around her legs. She moaned loudly to herself.  _ [Oh hell...I get the feeling that things did not go well...what happened?] _

* * *

 

Gwen kept her head lowered, retreating deeper into her hoodie, trying earnestly to mask her face. There were too many eyes in the throngs of people surrounding her. Anyone of them could have picked her out easily enough.  _ [The double edged sword of fame Gwen. You signed up for this, don’t forget that.]  _ She mumbled discontentedly to herself. The densely packed streets of New York at night was the last place she wanted to be. Well, almost last.

She had no memory of what had happened. The last thing she could recall was Slobber leering over, choking the life out of her. Then, nothing. Darkness. The next thing after that she had known was the beach, and now here.  _ [I know I lost. And lost bad. But what now?]  _ She didn’t have an answer.  _ [What happened to Slobber? Is he still out there? Is he still on a rampage?]  _ She didn’t know that either.

What Gwen did know was the very idea of facing him again made want to throw up.  _ [Oh god! I was useless up there! I couldn’t control myself! I couldn’t control…]  _ She didn’t finish that thought. She took short shallow breaths to try and re-centre herself.  _ [You’re all right Gwen. You’re all right. Nothing is trying to kill you...right now anyway.] _

She dodged around a particularly large crowd of people who had clustered together around a store front. As she slinked past, she caught a few words from the television set in the window. “-the NYPD have put out a statement informing the public to avoid entering the subway around lower Manhattan, as the search for the creature that wrecked the area earlier this evening remains ongoing.”

Gwen froze mid step and backpedalled. She glanced over the shoulder of the group of people, and watched herself getting absolutely destroyed on the screen. It was helicopter footage of her fight with Slobber. Except, it wasn’t her. It was Gwenom. Gwen had no memory of this. The two of them were clashing hard, trading heavy blows and tearing great portions of the bridge apart. Then suddenly the both of them were tumbling off the bridge, locked in each other's embrace.

She watched as she and Slobber crashed into the water, and a fountain of bubbles plumed to the surface in their wake. After a short while Slobber emerged from the river. Alone. Racing back to shore, he had leapt up onto the river bank and had been met by a barrage of heavy weapon fire. He had fled, charging headlong into the nearest subway entrance. 

“Unfortunately,” the reporter continued, “there has been no confirmed sighting of Spider-Woman as of yet. Authorities are continuing to sweep the area for her. If you have information about Spider-Woman’s whereabouts please contact us at-”

Gwen stopped listening and walked away hurriedly.  _ [Do-Do people think I’m dead? Oh God! What must dad be going through right now!? The girls!? Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!]  _ She raced down the street, ducking and weaving between people before turning off down a quiet side alley. She leaned against the wall and breathed hard. 

_ [I need to ring them. Let them know I’m alright!]  _ She pulled her phone out. A thin trickle of water leaked out. It would not turn on.  _ [SPECTACULAR! PERFECT! WONDERFUL!]  _ She threw it against the wall opposite, smashing it into pieces. She slid down the wall and huddled herself together, hugging her legs in her arms.  _ [What do I do now? I guess I should head home…]  _ She paused for a second, breathing hard, trying to get her thoughts in order. [ _ No. I can’t bring myself to face them. Any of them. Not yet. I’m not- I’m not-]  _ She wasn’t sure what. All she knew was that she couldn’t go home. Not yet. The thought of facing them after what had happened was unbearable.

“All right Gwen. Pull it together.” she muttered to herself. “I definitely know that I can’t spend all night hiding in this alley. I have to go--somewhere.”  _ [But where. Where can I go?] _ She spent a long moment thinking it over, then it came to her. She stood back up, and walked out of the alleyway.

* * *

Gwen unlocked the door and slunk inside the darkened building beyond. Closing the door behind her, she stared blankly into the blackened void. She spent a moment frozen there, her back pinned against the door, her hands pressed flat on its metal surface, as if the mere act would prevent anyone, or anything, pushing its way in after her.

_ [Come on Gwen. You’re safe here. You know that.]  _ She took a steadying breath and lifted her hand free of the door. She used it to flick the light switch on. The warehouse was bathed in light, illuminating the wide empty space. At the back of the room sat there band gear, bundled into a corner, quietly awaiting their players to return for them.

Gwen scanned the room.  _ [Nothing. Nothing at all. It’s alright.]  _ She took a step forward. Then another. She managed to cross about halfway across the warehouse before a sudden sense of hesitation gripped her.  _ [No. It’s too exposed…nowhere to hide.]  _ She looked up. [ _ Need to get higher.]  _ She shot a web sling up towards the rafters and climbed her way up. She crawled onto an out of the way support strut, and strove to blend into the shadows as best she could.

It mostly worked, but the light was still threatening to reveal her. Her feet were mere inches away from slipping forward and being revealed. She felt her gaze drawn towards the door. Her eyes flicked to the side of it.  _ [Light switch. Duh Gwen.]  _ With a quick flip of the wrist she shot a web sling at it...and missed.  _ [%#£€@! What is wrong with me!?]  _ She slung another with her other hand. This one landed. The lights flicked off. She grunted her tacit approval for the darkness.  She lowered her head into her lap, and for the first time all evening, allowed herself to relax. 

* * *

_ [...] _ Her mind fuzzed like an untuned TV set. No coherent thoughts would form. She didn’t want them to form. She wanted to sit here in peace. To enjoy the solitude, even from herself.  Time passed. Gwen had no idea how long she had been up there. The darkness was total and complete. The silence deafening. The only sound was that of the static buzz in her head. 

Her face felt colder slightly. She pressed her hand against her cheek. A thin trickle of tears were gliding down them.  _ [...] _ She couldn’t even bring herself to react to them. To acknowledge the craziness that she was crying without realising it.  She pulled her hand back and studied the water dripping off her fingers.  _ [...] _ She clenched her fist open and closed, feeling the muscles play inside it.  _ [...] _ She lifted it to her forehead and placed the flat of her palm against it, pressing down hard. A short halting gasp escaped her.  _ [Oh god...oh god! There’s something really-wrong with me…I can’t...I don’t...nothing. I feel nothing.] _

Quiet sobs began to escape her, finally breaking the stoicism that had gripped her so tightly. They were mournful. For herself. For everything that was happening to her.  _ [Why? Why me? I just want- I don’t deserve-] [...] [ _ _ Why me...? _ _ ] _

 A silent ringing echoed in the back of her mind. There were noises outside the door below. She fumbled her sobs to a halt, and tuned herself into them.

“She won’t be here.” said a voice. 

“It’s worth a try! I mean, where else would she go?” replied a different voice. Gwen knew those voices. Could have picked them out a mile away.

“Home?” said Glory.

“Which she hasn’t done yet.” replied MJ. “And neither has she been home to her father. So, she has to be somewhere.”

“Alright. Well, get the door open already.”

“I’m working on it!” said MJ. “Just need to find the right key. Annnnd. Presto!” The door swung open. A long beam of slender street light stretched its way down the length of the room.

“Gwen! You in here!?” Glory called.

“Get the lights dummy.” said MJ.

“Shut u-Ugh. Why is the light switch sticky!?” A short silence fell. Gwen couldn't see them, but she knew they staring at each other. 

“Gwen!?” they both cried out together. The light flicked on. Gwen shifted backward further into the shadows.

“Gwen! We know you’re in here!” Glory cried. “Come on! We’re not playing hide and seek here! This is for realsies!” Gwen didn’t respond. If anything she simply retreated deeper inside herself at the sound of their voices.

“Well, there aren’t that many places she can hide in here.” said MJ. “We’ll find her. Unless she can turn herself invisible now too.” The sound of footsteps echoed loudly below as the two of them walked inside.

“Gwen!” Glory called staring up towards the area Gwen roughly lay hidden in. “You up there!?” Gwen stayed stony silent.

“Come on Gwen! We’re scared for you! We just want to know you’re safe.” Gwen felt fresh tears sliding down her face, but refused to reveal herself. She wasn’t even sure why. Something was holding her back. Keeping her trapped in the shadows. Refusing to let her back out into the light. Blocking her from even speaking. Stopping her from letting her friends know she was alright.

A few minutes passed as they continued to search in vain for her. “I think she’s moved on.” Glory finally conceded. “But she was definitely here! That’s good! Real good! It means she’s still...well, you know.” 

“Yeah…” MJ said. “But like you say, this is definitely good news. For sure. Now we know she’s out there, somewhere. We just need to keep looking.”

“Maaaan,” Glory said as the two of them walked towards the door, “the shit we do for this girl. I really hope she appreciates it. Cause this is the second time in how many months we’ve had to go searching for her?” 

“I know she does.” MJ replied. “And so do you. She just happens to carry a little more weight than the rest of us. I don’t think I could handle all the shit she has to deal with. The best we can for her is to try and support her as best we can. We can’t carry her burdens for her, but we can carry her.”

“Like Sam carries Frodo?” Glory asked.

“What? What are you talking about?” MJ said confusedly

“Never mind.” Glory said. “Let’s just ring Betty and Mr Stacy and let them know Gwen is definitely still out there. Somewhere.” The lights flicked off and the door slammed closed behind them. Gwen was left all alone once more.

**Author's Note:**

> This was really fun to write. I hope you enjoyed it! Any feedback would be appreciated! Anything you liked, or things you think could be improved. Anything!


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